The most accomplished Memphis men’s tennis player in more than 40 years listened off to the side until everyone else said goodbye to 12-year-old Dakota Cunningham on Tuesday afternoon at The Racquet Club of Memphis.

As Cunningham talked about his favorite video games and soccer teams, Ryan Peniston smiled. But then Cunningham mentioned he would soon begin steroid treatment in his ongoing battle with leukemia at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the physical pain that probably would accompany it.

Peniston instinctively looked down at the “Dakotastrong” bracelet on his wrist, all too aware of what cancer can do to a child. And so he gave Cunningham a hug as Tricia Cunningham thanked him for posting words of encouragement on her son’s Facebook page.

She then explained the circumstances of this newfound friendship.

How it was Peniston who reached out to them through former Memphis women’s tennis coach Charlotte Peterson, a mutual acquaintance, once he heard Dakota’s story. And how their “little athlete-to-athlete powwow” had suddenly turned her soccer goalie into a tennis fan.

“People who are going through stuff like that, it’s so hard you can’t even explain,” Peniston said. “But if I could be anything, like a sign for them or a symbol of hope or whatever, to show that you can come through it and do the things you want to, that’s great.”

How Peniston beat cancer

No. 20 Memphis will make its sixth NCAA tournament appearance in seven years beginning Friday with an opening-round matchup against South Alabama in Starkville, Miss., and Peniston is the Tigers’ No. 1 singles player.

The left-handed senior is ranked No. 36 in the country with only two losses this season. Earlier this month, he became the first Memphis tennis player since 1976 to qualify for the NCAA singles championship.

Peniston is also the rare elite tennis player who also doubles as a pediatric cancer survivor, a fact he rarely brings up in conversation.

It’s partly because he only began discussing that chapter of his life with his parents over the last year. He was just 1 year old when he came bounding down the steps of his Great Wakering, England, home with a bulge protruding from his stomach.

He soon was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer often found in children, according to the National Cancer Institute. Surgery to remove a tumor and chemotherapy at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London followed.

Ryan Peniston enters the NCAA tournament with wins in 11 of his past 12 completed matches.(Photo: University of Memphis)

Peniston doesn’t remember much of the treatment. Only that he was declared cancer-free a year later and his doctor had previously visited St. Jude, a harbinger of the journey he would take for college.

“As you grow up,” he said, “you want to know more about things. I just asked them how it happened, how it came about.”

Peniston already knew about the long-term effects. Annual check-ups revealed that the cancer slowed his growth process, and he was much smaller than his classmates until he was 16 years old.

Peniston nonetheless emerged as a promising tennis prospect. He initially was coached by his father before moving on to the ISP Tennis Academy in France. That’s where he was when Memphis coach Paul Goebel and associate head coach Chris Doerr arrived looking for recruits.

After initially trying to lure elite American tennis players to campus upon becoming the Memphis coach in 2004, Goebel took his search international with increasingly successful results. This year’s roster, for instance, features four members from the United Kingdom, three Germans, a Spaniard and just two Americans.

Peniston didn’t know much about college tennis, although schools such as Mississippi State, Ohio State and Oregon all were recruiting him. But Doerr, who is also British, had a pitch that stood out.

Soon, Peniston was on a plane to visit the Memphis campus, and “I fell in love with the place,” he said.

But what he went through before getting there wasn’t something he trumpeted.

“He was very small, but you’d never know,” Goebel said. “He doesn’t talk about it ever.”

Why Peniston is playing so well this season

Peniston showed promise his first three years on campus, bulking up from 130 pounds to 160 pounds while compiling a 67-31 overall record in singles play. He ascended to the No. 1 singles spot as a junior.

But he credits this past fall, when Memphis allowed him and teammate Andrew Watson to take a semester off and compete as amateurs in various professional tournaments, for his ascension.

The British duo traveled the globe — from Wichita, Kan., to Portugal to Greece, Germany and even Qatar — playing both singles and doubles matches. In December, Peniston and Watson captured their first professional title in Qatar as doubles partners.

“We gained some invaluable experience from that and just took it to the season, and it's paid off,” Peniston said. “It’s senior year, so I’m trying to make the most out of things, and I think that’s just helped quite a lot.”

Peniston enters the NCAA tournament with wins in 11 of his past 12 completed matches. He’s dropped just eight sets all spring. Goebel pointed to Peniston’s improved serve and forehand, as well as his anticipation, when explaining this success.

Rather than overpower opponents, Peniston simply wears them down with consistency and a knack for playing his best during the biggest points.

But nobody, not even Peniston, saw this dominant campaign coming.

“I definitely think he’s overachieved what my expectations were for him,” Goebel said. “After a couple years I saw he could do this well, but to only lose two matches all year is really something.”

Peniston called his come-from-behind March 7 win over Tulane’s Constantin Schmitz, when he “put my body on the line” against an opponent ranked No. 15 in the country at the time, the highlight of his season.

But senior day against Temple also will hold a special place in his memories because that’s when Cunningham presented him with a “Dakotastrong” bracelet.

It was a reminder for everyone of what Peniston overcame, and the inspiration others can draw from it.

Even if he’s not the type to talk about it.

“If you ask him, he’ll just say he’s lucky to be here,” Watson said. “But it makes a difference. He’s always smiling, always seeing the good in people. He’s playing really well, and he deserves it.”